


Coping

by peopleinherearewaiting



Category: Call the Midwife
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-22
Updated: 2016-02-22
Packaged: 2018-05-22 16:09:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6086190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peopleinherearewaiting/pseuds/peopleinherearewaiting
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So this started off as a headcanon and ended up as a short one-shot. Oops. Patsy reacts to Trixie revealing her AA secret. Spoilers for 5.06</p>
            </blockquote>





	Coping

When Patsy found out about Trixie going to Alcoholics Anonymous she felt awful but she didn’t let it show because Trixie wouldn't want that. She felt stupid for not realising it sooner. All the signs had been there: Trixie’s rather sudden aversion to alcohol several months ago, her weekly disappearances that were always at the same time. Patsy realised that she was not the only one with something to hide. She felt sad that Trixie had felt the need to conceal this from her for so long; after all, they were good friends and roommates, and she hated to think that Trixie could not confide in her, before realising that exactly the same could apply to Patsy too. Perhaps she would have to do something about that.

Patsy coped as she usually did when something upset her; she researched what it was, and more importantly what she could do to help make it better. After her mother and sister had died in the camp, Patsy vowed that she would become a nurse so that she would know what to do to help others in that position. She had been so helpless and unable to do anything, and she could not let that happen again.

So she sat down with piles of books and medical journals and slowly worked her way through them, unbeknownst to Trixie, of course. One evening, Delia found her sobbing over an article about how a difficult or damaged childhood could lead to alcoholism because Trixie had obviously been through so much that Patsy did not know about, but she did know what it was like to have a painful childhood and she wouldn’t wish it upon anybody.

Over the next few weeks, Trixie noticed little changes: Patsy and Delia no longer had nightcaps - at least, not in her company - and when Trixie checked, Patsy’s alcohol cupboard had been cleaned out and re-stocked with soda. It made her happy to know that her friends did not think any less of her and she knew that she could turn to them if she ever needed to.


End file.
